


In Plain Sight

by Triscribe



Series: What-If Star Wars AUs [6]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Identity Reveal, Mentioned Padmé Amidala, Pre-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Skywalker Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25399855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triscribe/pseuds/Triscribe
Summary: This last item, Vader picked up. He assumed the holodisk would bear a nostalgic group photo, including both Luke, Organa, and that ruffian Solo they continued to hunt for, perhaps additional rebels gathered around them.He was so very, very wrong.
Relationships: Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker
Series: What-If Star Wars AUs [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788598
Comments: 9
Kudos: 329





	In Plain Sight

Vader swept into the security center with all the weight of a looming hurricane. All non-essential personnel had fled at word of his arrival; only the site’s director remained anxiously waiting, along with the comms tech and the unfortunate guard assigned to monitor their prisoners.

Their _highly important_ prisoners.

“Status,” Vader rumbled, again reminiscent of an imminent storm. The director gulped.

“O-Organa is secure, m-my lord,” the man stammered. “I have a d-dozen men guarding her c-cell.”

“And Skywalker?”

An audible pause. “He is- well- s-stable, my lord-” The Force quivered in warning around the director’s throat, applying just enough pressure to be noticed. His panic level tripled. “The medics! They- they’re certain he can be removed from bacta this evening, my lord!”

Vader took another step closer. “And _why,_ is he _in_ bacta in the _first_ place?”

“Explosion in the manufacturing plant, sir,” the stormtrooper at the monitor station spoke up. “Skywalker and Organa triggered a meltdown, but didn’t get entirely clear before everything started blowing up. He pulled some kind of trick to throw her clear, but took a number of burns and shrapnel damage from molten debris hitting his upper back and shoulders.”

Jerking his head in a sharp nod, Vader pulled back from the wheezing director, and instead moved closer to the guard and his monitor screens. One, front and center, bore the image of his son floating in a bacta tank, medical personnel flitting about as three stormtroopers remained still around the perimeter. The sight of it filled the Sith Lord with a dark fury, and he nearly reached out to crush the nearest object.

“We confiscated these from them, sir.” A tray entered his field of vision, the stormtrooper either incredibly perceptive or exceptionally lucky to have managed to derail the start of Vader’s latest rampage. He glanced down to better study the objects held up for his inspection.

Luke’s lightsaber, of course. Not the old one lost on Bespin, but a new construction, well-made, similar but distinctly unique from the other design. A pair of comm links, some splicing and lock-picking tools, a credit reader of expensive make, two small vibroknives and a single-grip blaster that undoubtedly belonged to Organa, and a holodisk.

This last item, Vader picked up. He assumed it would be a nostalgic group photo, including both Luke, Organa, and that ruffian Solo they continued to hunt for, perhaps additional rebels gathered around them.

He was so very, very wrong.

A click, and three familiar forms flickered into view. Padme. Padme and the late Organas, obviously taken in the final days of the Republic. Her baby bump was only just visible; all three of them were smiling, Padme looking at the other two gratefully.

If Vader’s hand had yet been flesh and blood, it would’ve begun trembling. His helmet slowly lifted, eyes staring at the monitor screen beside the one displaying Luke. For the first time in years, he truly _looked_ at Princess Leia Organa, and allowed himself to make the painful comparison of her face to his beloved Padme’s.

The resemblance... was more than uncanny.

“...which of them carried this,” he asked, unusually subdued.

“Organa, sir. A hidden pocket inside her coat. She put up a bigger fight over us taking that than any of her weapons.”

Of course. Displayed on screen to be angrily pacing her cell, the Princess bore several marks of struggling - bruises on her face and bare forearms, hair in disarray, a smear of dried blood beneath her nose. With his epiphany still ringing, supported by a hum in the Force, Vader felt rage rise up on her behalf just as great as the fury for his injured son.

“Have Organa transferred to my ship,” he suddenly ordered. “Inform me as soon as the medics clear Skywalker for transport. Do _not_ allow any harm to befall him before my return.”

“Yes, Lord Vader!” The stormtrooper gave him a crisp salute. The director, partially recovered from his earlier panic, fell all over himself offering reassurances and promises. Vader couldn’t help but sneer - and judging by the emotions emanating from the trooper, he surmised the soldier was doing the same. Perhaps a transfer would be in order...

Sweeping out of the security center, Vader strode for the facility’s hangar bays. Word travelled swiftly, and a squad of stormtroopers met him there, Leia held securely in their midst. She glared at him. Wordlessly, the Sith Lord boarded his shuttle, his own guards accepting custody of the Princess and strapping her into a seat.

The entire length of the trip up to the Executor, Vader focused on the Force. Flickers of light and emotion swirled around him; those of the troopers and pilots were discarded - the intangible flames radiating off of Leia held his attention. It took a good while, but shortly before their arrival aboard the Super Star Destroyer, Vader determined that she _was_ Force-sensitive, simply shielded very, _very_ well.

Leia herself likely wasn’t aware. Once a sentient realized their connection to the Force, their footprint within it expanded, becoming more noticeable to others. The fact that Vader hadn’t felt any such stirring in their previous encounters pointed towards mental blocks placed when she was very young, which grew over time, pulling off of her own power to become even stronger.

He wondered absently if someone had given Luke such blocks as well, only for Obi-wan to remove them after leaving Tatooine. It would certainly explain why he’d barely felt the boy during the rescue on the Death Star, only to witness his prowess expand in leaps and bounds in the years since.

Yes... that seemed most likely. And now, once Leia’s own blocks were removed, she too would improve drastically - but not as a Jedi. No, his daughter’s first lessons would be in the ways of the Dark Side. And once she accepted that strength, they both could work to convince Luke.

With _two_ powerful children at his side, Vader _knew_ that Palpatine’s time would soon come to an end.

_Twins, Angel. We have twins._


End file.
